Bone marrow necrosis as clinical presentation of plasmablastic lymphoma in an AIDS patient: First case reported and literature review

Abstract

Patients with HIV/AIDS disease are at high risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) which is included as anAIDS-defining illness. Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) most frequently presents in the oral cavity and generally inpatients with HIV infection. Extra-oral PBL is a rare tumor but with a similar capability to local invasion and rapiddissemination to extra-oral sites. Bone marrow necrosis (BMN) associated with high grade B cell lymphoproliferative disease is a rare condition that should be suspected in HIV-infected patients with unexplained fever and cytopenias. Herewe describe the first case of BMN caused by a high grade NHL diagnosis as PBL in an AIDS patient.